LETTER: Longfield shows 'true partisan stripes', reader says

GuelphToday received the following letter to the editor from Mississauga resident Matthew Campbell. It is in response to a letter submitted on Nov. 5 by Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield on the meaning and importance of Elections Act, Bill C-76:

It's a real shame that the sitting Liberal MP for Guelph, Lloyd Longfield, has finally shown his true partisan stripes. On the day before he announced his re-election bid, he launched what can only be quantified as a negative political diatribe, complete with partisan rhetoric, outright falsehoods, and fear-mongering tactics that only serve to reveal how genuinely concerned the Liberals are about holding onto Guelph next year.

Let's explore the truth with facts, and contrast them with what he had to say:

First, he sought to stoke fear in voters of a repeat of the sordid events during 2011, and further implied that this occurred across the country. In actual fact, Elections Canada concluded in Section 4.1 of their follow-up report that, "Investigators found no discernible pattern of misdirecting calls" Not off to a great start as his opening comment contains blatant factual errors. 0 for 1.

Secondly, he sought stoke anger in Guelph's electorate by implying that somehow those involved had, "gotten away with it". As residents of Guelph know quite well, this crime was investigated, prosecuted, and a 2014 conviction was rendered. No other individuals were pursued by the Crown, and the case was closed. That makes him 0 for 2 in regards to the facts.

Thirdly, Longfield states that testimony was withheld during the course of the trial. How does he say this when all witnesses approached by the Public Prosecutions Office came forward to testify, and did so willingly? 0 for 3.

And finally, he seeks to instill fear in Guelph by alluding to the US/Russian influence investigation. He fails to mention however, that Canada did in fact have a serious issue with foreign influence of our electorate in 2011. The American based Tides Foundation funded a Canadian organization called LeadNow, which was organizing across the country to defeat the Harper government. These facts are well documented in a number of media reports during May, 2017. In a twist of irony, that foreign-funded organization endorsed Longfield in Guelph during the 2015 election, and held a rally in his support on October of that year. I do not recall him ever denouncing this undue foreign influence, and we have a word for that...hypocrisy. 0 for 4.

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